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To some extent all plants and animals try to defend themselves against attack. Nothing likes to be eaten. In animals, you get the all-to-obvious tooth and claw with which to fight off predators. Plants can also go for the thorn approach, but the more common approach is poison with a variety of different delivery systems. For the most part, humans need not worry about plants. Unless innocent children start eating berries, people are not going to be troubled. Except. . . except for the increasingly common poison ivy, poison oak and sumac. Starting with the ivy, this is not properly part of the ivy family. Rather it belongs to the group of vines producing cashew nuts and mangos. Like the other two dangerous plants, this produces a natural defense through its sap. Called urushiol, it produces a rash. If there is only a slight contact, this does no more than itch. But if the contact is more direct, the skin can blister and swell. Thanks to global warming, the ivy now spreads throughout most of North America, usually preferring wooded surroundings although, in urban areas, it grows along shaded hedge rows. Rather than ground cover, poison oak is a free-standing shrub and it’s to be found throughout the southeastern states, again mainly in forests and wooded areas. The final sumac is a big shrub or small tree growing up to about 20 feet in height in swampy conditions in eastern North America.

In many ways, it’s remarkable we accept the presence of so many poisonous plants in our towns, cities and surrounding countryside. Thousands of people are affected every year. It takes only the slightest touch for the reaction to come. If you know the contact has taken place, you should immediately wash the affected area with ordinary soap and water. Under normal circumstances, washing within five minutes of contact will prevent any significant rash forming. In other cases of mild contact, you will be able to control the resulting irritation and itching using calamine lotion. Cooling the skin also helps, so taking cold showers or using a compress usually reduces the annoying symptoms. Because this is an allergic reaction, taking one of the over-the-counter antihistamines will also help. If you do so, remember to buy one which does not make you drowsy. (more…)

You have to admire the marketers. Sometimes, they succeed beyond their wildest expectations. Who would have thought the market for sleeping pills could become so vast. The reason is slightly hard to understand. First, there seems to be an epidemic of insomnia. Millions of people are either pacing from room to room at night in frustration or lying in a bed completely unable to make the counting of sheep pay off. Even allowing for the supposed growth of stress levels in our modern lives, why are so many people having this problem. Sure, over the last two years, the effects of a recession have been sweeping across the land, unemployment is high and credit is tough. But it should not stress out quite so many people and, anyway, this epidemic was at a similar level when the economy was booming. Second, even if we have all these millions of sleepless people, why have they all apparently become dependent on sleeping pills? There are more pills prescribed than there are adults in the US. And that’s before we get to all those people who, like yourselves, buy online without a prescription. In reality, there are more than enough pills to knock everyone out every night for weeks.

So what’s happening here? It’s probably two slightly different trends. People have been convinced they have a problem. Just because they are sleeping less and wake feeling more tired than they expect, they believe this is a problem justifying major medication. So, when the marketers come along with a magic solution to this medical problem, it’s just so easy to take a pill and drop into unconsciousness. Once you accept the problem, the solution is a pill.

Let’s put the myths up there in lights. “You need eight hours sleep a night.” or “You shouldn’t wake during the night.” Well, who says? Everyone is different when it comes to sleep and how long we sleep is set by circumstances. Many people are happy on six hours a night. Others zone out for ten hours. How often have you gone without sleep before a test or exam, burning the midnight oil in a last effort to cram facts into your head. You did OK the next day without sleep. People can and do cope on less sleep. It’s only if you convince yourself you making yourself ill that you become ill. When you were younger and were looking forward to something special, did you never wake early, jump out of bed and think everything was good about the world. How come you got so old all of a sudden? (more…)

This is one of these questions. . . Well, to be honest, it’s a bit of an insult isn’t it? Everyone knows how to diet and get the best results. Except. . . Well. . . That’s what you would think. After all, everyone coming to this site is a seasoned veteran of the dieting scene. You are the gurus to all your friends and relatives, passing on the benefit of your experience. It’s just there’s been this big new survey. One of the first questions was whether the responders were worried about their weight. As you would expect, the majority said they were really worried about their weight and, hardly another big surprise here, most boasted they were all actively trying to lose some weight. Those with more modest ambitions said they were aiming to stay at the same weight – a slightly more realistic option. An impressive 65% confirmed their long-term health depended on losing weight. Unfortunately, as the survey continued, it became increasingly clear the majority did not know how to diet effectively or make the lifestyle changes to make weight loss possible.

Let’s start with the right answer first. As you all know, the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat. This means calculating the base amount you need to keep your lungs and heart pumping the necessary air and blood around. Then ensure you eat only enough on top to cover basic activity, leaving the body to supply the rest of the calories by burning the fact. In fact, you should up your demand for energy by exercising more. This improves the rate at which you should lose weight. Yet, when asked, almost 60% of the great US public did not know how to calculate their basic calorie needs, and only 11% said they could accurately estimate the number of calories they ate every day. When those who claimed to be actively losing weight were asked, less than 20% said they were counting calories. The only action they are taking is changing the type and range of food they eat, and reducing the physical amount. Of course, there’s nothing wrong in eating smaller portions, but smaller portions of what food? Unless you know the calorific value of the food as cooked, you cannot judge how much to eat and lose weight. (more…)

Expert and amateur hikers and campers alike are familiar with the dangers of poison oak, ivy, and sumac. In fact, it’s the first merit badge many Cub Scouts get. For good reason: the aggravating rash, welts, and itch can stay with you for FAR too long and drive you up a wall. While learning to recognize and avoid these plants is clearly the best way to approach any outdoors situation, these plants have a habit of surprising us or catching us unawares. So once you’ve got it, what do you do about it? There is only one sure-fire cure, so find out about it below.

First, let’s learn a bit about these allergy-inducing plants.

Poison Ivy

It’s not actually an ivy at all. It can be found growing as a trailing vine, a shrub, or a climbing vine in many parts of the United States. It produces an oil with its sap called urushiol (not urush-oil) that, when it comes in contact with the skin just by brushing up against the plant, causes a severe itching rash.

To avoid poison ivy, stay away from any plants that grow with clusters of three leaves, especially if they have red stems. There are a number of mnemonic devices to help: leaves of three, let it be; red leaflets in spring, it’s a dangerous thing; longer middle stem, stay away from them; and so on.

Poison Oak

This is a bush that grows up to three feet tall. It has 6-inch long leaves that alternate in groups of three. The leaflets are hairy and irregular sizes, but they look a lot like white oak leaves. (more…)